Please Read the Terms & Conditions... (#WifeWorthy Diaries)

We can hardly do anything these days without agreeing to some form of terms and conditions. Shopping online, applying for a credit card, using social media. All of these things involve some sort of requirements. Have you taken the time to read what you are agreeing to before you agree to it or do you just click the box to get to what you are trying to get to?

Yeah, I don't read them either.

I plan on doing it though, even if I skim through the document. I want to know exactly what I am getting myself into before I get into it. Like when you go to the cell phone store to buy a new phone, all you care about is how much data you can get and how many pictures it can hold. Forget the fact that, even though the price says $50 a month, there are taxes and fees of all kinds. You wind up paying $90 a month! Don't get mad at the cell phone people! You're the one that agreed to the terms and service without knowing everything that it entailed. The service you get will be based on the terms you agree to, unless they change, and them the agreement will need to be updated.
Can you see where I am going with this???

Ecclesiastes 5:4

"When you make a promise to God,
don’t delay in following through,
for God takes no pleasure in fools.
Keep all the promises you make to him."

 

How many of us really realize what we have said or are planning on saying in our marriage vows? People take them way too easily. You won't give your email address to a website that you are visiting for the first time for fear of spam mail, but you will marry a man without fully understanding what the  vows you are repeating actually mean?

If you can't say amen, just say ouch...

Marriage vows are not just a promise to the guy standing in front of you. They are promises to God as well. All of the promises that God has given or will give to us are based on the fact that He is faithful and can be trusted, but also on the fact that He is, well, God. He cannot lie and He has no reason to change His mind. We, on the other hand, can barely decided where we want to go eat without changing our minds 20 times.

Think about it: "I take you to be my husband, through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, through the good times and bad, as long as we both shall live".
 

Okay, sounds good. But what are the terms and conditions to these vows? Is it my definition of good and bad or his? How bad is it supposed to get before I bail? Is he going to get sick or am I? Is it going to be a terminal illness or a head cold? How poor are we talking here? Like, living off of an abundant savings bad, or homeless, living in our car bad?

Girl, I have no idea, and God could tell you, but He won't. When you stand before the judge, chaplain or minister and promise God that you will be faithful, obedient and loving to the man standing across from you, you have to trust that God will see you through whatever obstacles jump in front of you guys. You have to believe in your man that he is willing to hear the voice of God, be obedient to the will of God and do whatever it takes to make sure that you and your family will be okay.
 

If you have doubts, check that "Decline" box until you are ready to commit. And of you are already married, don't get mad if you have agreed and then find that you were misinformed. Either make the necessary adjustments and ride it out, believing God that things will get better, or do what you have to do. Just know, there might be a penalty for early withdrawal, but then again, that was in the terms of service as well.
 

Pay close attention and read the fine print....

Single, Saved...Sexy??? (#WifeWorthy Diaries)

Sexy is in the eye of the beholder. Or is that beauty? If you are a single, saved woman, should you be sexy?

I have no idea.

It 's not because I haven't thought about it, or because I don't have an opinion, because I do. But the thing about writing a blog for Christian women is, I want to be objective, but still be myself. Which is not the easiest thing in the world for me. And this topic will cause some eyebrows to raise but, I wouldn't be me if I didn't go against the grain. So let's start with what the Bible says, and then I'll give you what I've got. Okedoke?

Proverbs 18:22

"The man who finds a wife finds a treasure,
    and he receives favor from the Lord."

 

 

Keep in mind that the words you are reading are my own personal opinions. Yours may be different and, if it is, please share! I would love to read it in the comments.
Anyhoo...
 

If a man is to find you, truth is he will find you. Doesn't matter what you wear or how you look. If God has whispered your name in a man's ear, you are the only person that he sees. He might look at other women, but you are the only one that he sees. So is it necessary to run out and by a new wardrobe and get a makeover in order to "catch" a man?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
 

Being sexy is less about fishnets and stilettos and more about how you feel about yourself. I do not find anything wrong with and ADULT woman feeling good about herself. So what if she does wear lace underwear? So what if her bra is red? As long as she knows that no one is seeing her undergarments but her and the woman that is responsible for her laundry, I see no issue. Are these really valid points for whether a woman should be sexy if she loves God and isn't married?

Having sex and being sexy are 2 totally different things. I looked the word "sexy" up in the dictionary and, while one of the definitions does say that it is concerned with sex (risqué), the other definition says: "exciting, appealing, glamorous". Is it a crime for a woman to be exciting? Appealing? Glamorous? My mind tells me no. My heart tells me no.

Being a saved woman means that a woman has accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior, loves God and is doing everything that she can do to serve Him the say that she wants to.

A woman can be sexy and be fully clothed from head to toe. She does not have to show cleavage in order to be considered appealing. She does not need to wear a lot of makeup to be glamorous. She does not need to "turn up" in the club every weekend to be exciting. A real woman, a lady, stimulates people with her mind. She is attractive because of her positive attitude. She is desirable because she knows both who and what she is. She is interesting because she is intelligent. And she is valuable because she knows that she does not have to take all of her clothes off, fornicate or be promiscuous in order to be sexy.

In my lowly opinion, sexy is a state of mind. I love the Lord as much as I possibly can, and I am confident in my appearance, my attitude and my identity. And I have on all of my clothes!!!

 If that isn't sexy, I don't know what is...



It's About to be New ... (#WifeWorthy Diaries)

Please forgive me for being selective with this post, but with us being dead-center in the spring/summer seasons, there's a lot going on. Proms, graduations, births and celebrations of all kind. But, for the celebration that is  most relevant to the reason for my writing today, wedding season! 'Tis the season for matrimonies and wedding cakes. Bridesmaids dresses, tuxedo rentals, flower arrangements... OH MY!
If you are readying to move forward with your nuptials, this post's for you...
(And even if you are waiting in expectation for someone to one day bend his knee and whip out a diamond, this one is for you too.)
There is always so much planning behind a wedding day. It's extremely stressful. A woman is planning her most sacred day, and it's a fascinating process. Color swatches, hair styles, song and invitation lists. There are lists on top of lists. I thought I was going to lose my mind when I was planning our wedding some years ago, but that mostly had to do with my obsession with being in charge of every aspect of my wedding.
But I digress...
The big day when you marry your boo should be well-planned and as fabulous as you would like. You should have everything that you want and, if not, the best that is at your disposal.
After all, everything in your life is about to change.

1 Corinthians 5:17

 

"This means that anyone who belongs to

Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone;

a new life has begun!"

 

Whether you acknowledge it or not, marriage is a sacred covenant between you, your husband and God. Promises are being made, plans are being formulated and transformations are being processed. Your entire life is about to change:

-Your name will change.

-If you are having children, your body will change.

-Your finances are about to change.

-Your personal space is about to be invaded permanently.

-Your address might even change.

Everything about a woman changes when she gets married. She is the feminine half of couple.

The wedding is just the first hill of the rollercoaster. When you are exchanging vows, that's the very top before the first rapid, stomach-dropping, uncontrollable screaming drop.

It knocks the wind out of you at first.

Being married is beginning a new life. You left single behind you, and you are a wife. That's major! And any form of growth will come with up's and down's. That's what happens with expansion and changes. Things must be adjusted to and you have to find your comfort zone. At least a temporary one until your next phase of growth begins.

Don't let me scare you. Marriage is fab. I believe it's something that every woman should experience. But there is no being totally prepared for it. No matter what advice you get at the bridal shower and bachelorette party, you have embrace your new life.

You're leaving the old one behind at "I do"...

Maps Save Lives...

Have you ever heard about the difference between men and women?
Well, one of the seven hundred million differences between men and women...
Women would get lost and stop, asking someone for directions while men would just keep driving around until they figured out which direction they were supposed to be traveling in.
Makes no sense but, okay...
Well, thank God for witty inventions and common sense because, thanks to geniuses of some form or another, GPS was invented.
I am one individual that would not travel anywhere outside of my immediate radius without their GPS. I need it. It's a requirement. While there are some places that I do know how to get without general direction: My parents-in-law's house, the mall, Wal-Mart. Those places are grilled into my brain. But then again, there are quite a few places that I frequent and I would not be able to get there without the help of my trusty iPhone and the wonder that is GPS.
I'm cool with the flaw that I called "perpetual misdirection".
What in the world does this have to do with being a wife? Stay with me. I'm on my way.

Psalm 32:8

"The Lord says,

'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
    I will advise you and watch over you.' "

 

Just as I have no idea about directionality when I am driving to unfamiliar places, I have no idea how to navigate the unknown (and some of the known) aspects of marriage alone. No way. And your husband can't either. You all know each other as well as you possibly can, but living your lives together successfully and the way God wants you all to live is impossible without the directions of God.

God promised to give us the epitome of a Global Positioning System. You know why? Because He created all and knows everything that there is to know about you and your man. He knew you when you were born, when you met, when you married, when you had your first argument. He even knows where you are now and where you will end up.

If you think about it, isn't the best person to get advice and direction from the person that already knows what is going to happen? Why would I ask someone that has no idea about me, my past or my future.

The scripture says that God will guide is along the "best" pathway. That means He knows the best way to go and the best route to get there. He is in no position to lead you wrong; He couldn't even if He tried. All we have to do is allow Him to take the wheel.

And no back seat driving is allowed.

Now as for driving on the actual road, I bless God for Google maps...

The greatest obstacle to learning is not the actual teaching of something new. It is dealing with what you have already learned.